There’s no getting around it, people are season conscious.  Take a look down the aisles of any department store and you will see merchandise for the next big holiday.  It’s a huge business for them and it can be for you too.  The Fourth of July, and the days leading up to it, can be a great time to connect with your customers and add new ones, if you plan your marketing campaign correctly.

The first thing you must do before the start of any marketing effort is know your customer.  This applies to any marketing campaign.  How does your typical customer celebrate Independence Day?  What about the Fourth of July is important to them… a day off from work… spending time with the family… an excuse to drink… patriotic feelings?  Once you know how your customer thinks and feels, you can customize your marketing ideas into an effective plan of attack.

As with any marketing campaign, it’s an investment and should be viewed that way instead of an expense.  It’s the means to a profitable end.  So if you want your marketing efforts to skyrocket like bombs bursting in air, rather than fizzle and smolder on the ground – here are some Fourth of July marketing ideas to help spark your creativity:

Host an Event

People love cookouts and fireworks on the Fourth of July.  Maybe you can host a cookout event before a fireworks display from the local municipality.  Team up with a charity or other local merchants.  A concert in the park is another event that would drive people out in droves.  If your event is interesting enough to the media, you might get lots of free publicity from TV stations, newspapers and websites.

If you do plan to organize an event, give yourself lots of time to plan it right and build up interest.  Also make sure your marketing plan is in place so you know exactly how you can best promote your business through the event so it’s worth your time and effort.

 Enter a Parade

Many towns still have parades on the Fourth of July.  Plan ahead and create a float.  Many parades have low or no entry fees for parade participants.  Be creative so your parade stands out.  Display brightly colored banners on the sides and/or give away promotional goodies with your company name and info printed on it.

Give Away Something

If a parade float isn’t possible, try giving away free ice cream cones, bags of popcorn or glasses of cold lemonade at the end of the parade route.  It’ll definitely get your name out there and be appreciated by the hot, sweaty crowd.  If a food item isn’t a possibility, try giving away Frisbees, hacky sacks, flag pins, etc. with your logo printed on the freebies.  Just make sure you’re the only one giving away that specific item.  No one will remember your business if there are four different companies giving away lemonade.

Donate a Prize

Many large Fourth of July celebrations have door prizes or raffle off products for charity.  Do you have something (even a gift card) that could be donated as a prize?  You will get free publicity in doing so.  You may even be mentioned in the event’s flyer, website or newsletter.  Try to make the prize fit in with the celebration by adding a patriotic theme and you will be remembered by the majority of people in attendance.

Create Something Original for the Season

If you own a store, create a special Independence Day product, available for a limited time.  If you own a bar, it could be a red, white and blue Jell-O shot or a special blend drink with a patriotic name.  If you own a bakery, it could be a Fourth of July dessert with red, white and blue icing.  If you own a restaurant, offer a family picnic tray of ribs or BBQ chicken that folks can pick up and take with them to the outdoor event.

No matter what your business is, there should be something that you could create to commemorate the Fourth of July season and add desire and value to your customers.  Make sure you plan ahead and advertise in advance so all your customers know about the special.

Create an Online Sale

Even if you don’t have a brick and mortar store, you can still have a spectacular sale on your website.  Advertise in advance and have a sale that lasts for 1776 minutes.  Give your best deal of the summer and keep the patriotic theme for your sale.  Have your sales staff dress up in colonial garb and take a picture of them signing a document captioned with “Declare Your Independence from Higher Prices”, etc.  Make it fun for your customers and your employees.  Promote it with zest and watch your summer sales increase.

Theme Out your Location or Website

If you have a store or a sales office, get in the spirit by decorating a week or two before the Fourth of July.  It shows your patriotic side and the decorating can be fun for you and your staff.  Your customers will appreciate the extra work.  If you have a website, design a landing page themed around Independence Day.  Add a video of you or your staff wishing America a happy birthday and thanking the men and women who have served our country.  The video will be appreciated by your customers and might even be shared by others.

Utilize your Social Media Networks

Whatever your marketing plans are, make sure they are promoted on all your social media platforms.  This should be obvious, but sometimes business owners get bogged down in the details and forget to properly utilize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Pinterest to help them get the word out effectively. And make sure you promote your plans on your business blog as well.

Put your Personal Politics on Hold

We all have our personal opinions and we all think are views are right.  But the time surrounding Independence Day should be for putting those views aside and celebrating the fact that we live in a country where different opinions are tolerated and freedom of speech is still permitted.  So bite your tongue, forget the persuasion and concentrate on the celebration.

Have you started thinking about your Fourth of July marketing plan?  If not, NOW is the time!  What other Fourth of July marketing ideas can you share with our readers?  Let us know on our Facebook Fan Page! We want to hear from you!

The organization – who’s mission is dedicated to empowering youth as leaders in service to the community, spent the evening recognizing students, adults and businesses that assist in its continued growth & awareness throughout the community.

Among the distinguished roster of student scholarship recipients and organization partners receiving acknowledgement, CYD’s executive Director, Karen Bogues, presented Captivation Media Group with the Business Partner of the Year award for 2013! (Which was totally unexpected!)  Bogues addressed the crowd of 130+ attendees stating,  “Captivation Media has helped us immensely through the years to stay on the cutting-edge of our marketing campaigns and to get the word out to our target audience. Their team not only comes up with tremendously creative ideas, but they have the expertise to execute those ideas into reality.”

As we reflect on the past 5+ years working with CYD, we are extremely honored and humbled to be recognized for such an awesome award.  From campaign websites, to social media, to videos CYD has entrusted us with delivering effective marketing time and time again.

This year’s projects thus far have proven especially unique and fun!  Most notably of which was assisting in the creation of an 8-bit “Super Mario Brothers”-inspired web / video / social campaign for the 36-Hour Giving Partnership Challenge, in which we assisted CYD in winning a $5,000 grant for most views of their profile page.  At its core, this campaign included a video produced by Captivation Media as well as individuals dressed as Mario characters and teens and community leaders sporting mustaches in photos on social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

It’s an honor to work with an organization like CYD, and a sincere privilege to be awarded their Business Partner of the Year!  Seeing the youth that were honored last night and how these wonderful young individuals have embraced responsibility and leadership roles, we were reminded of how lucky we are to have an organization like CYD in our community and feel incredibly fortunate to have played a role in its growth!

Whether you have hundreds of employees or just a couple of interns, your workers interact with many people beyond your brand’s area of influence.  What are they saying about your business?  What are they saying about you on their social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter?  Even if they want to say positive things about your brand, it’s quite possible they don’t know how to say it or if they’re saying it right.  Now is the time to transform your employees into passionate brand ambassadors.

Your traditional PR methods have a finite reach and limited effectiveness.  It’s difficult for some people to connect with brands, no matter what the size of the company, because they are viewed as impersonal.  By enlisting brand evangelists within your organization, you can allow that personal connection to manifest.  A passionate brand ambassador will attract new demographics, increase your brand exposure and build greater trust with current customers.

The reason why some organizations are resistant to employees spreading their message is control.  You’re giving up that tightly wound PR message when you transform employees into brand ambassadors.  Things won’t always be perfect, and that’ll give some managers sweaty palms and twitchy eyes.  However, that lack of control is also the beauty behind having employee evangelists.  These workers are speaking to their circles of influence in their own words, not yours.  Their message comes across as genuine and credible, which means their opinions are trusted and valued more than the usual corporate spin.

So while you can’t control the messenger, there are ways to influence the message.  It all starts with open, honest communication with your employees.  Cut the self-promotion crap with your employees, they’ll sniff it outright away and you’ll lose their respect.  Level with them.  Tell them the way it really is.  Speak from the heart.  They’ll appreciate it and have a deeper respect for you and the company.

Remember… “Forget the spin.  Communicate from Within”

Create a culture where management is accessible and approachable.  Ensure that workers are treated with respect and are recognized for their hard work.  When you earn your employees respect and gain their trust, they’ll be more passionate about the brand.  And they’ll spread that enthusiasm to others within their area of influence.

Here are some ways to bolster communications with your employees, and at the same time create passionate brand ambassadors:

Identify Employees Who Already Have a Personal Blog

Offer company ‘scoops’ to these individuals for posting on their blogs before the news is sent to the mainstream media.  Your information will have a better chance of going viral, plus your employees will feel valued that you trusted them with the news before others.

Reward Your Top Brand Ambassadors

Do you have one or two employee evangelists that tirelessly and sincerely promote your brand?  Do you want more?  Set up a rewards program.  It could be as simple as acknowledgement in the company newsletter or a company perk.   It could also be a prize like cash or gift cards.  Recognition and rewards are powerful motivators for any employee.

Have an Internal Product or Service Fair

Does every employee fully understand your brand?  Take a few hours out of one day to have some fun and demonstrate all the uses for your product and some little known facts.  Supply some pizza and soft drinks and make it an event.  Have knowledgeable personnel on hand to answer any questions.  The object is not to put a spin on the brand, but to educate your employees about the goods or services your company offers.  You might be surprised to learn that some of your employees haven’t fully grasped the value behind your products.   Once they fully ‘get’ what you do and what the company stands for, they’ll be ready to become a passionate brand ambassador.

Have Analytics and “Listeners” in Place

It’s important to know if each brand ambassador is helping (or hurting) your brand.  Make sure your company has some sort of way to monitor your brand and measure the results of the items being syndicated.  Without proper metrics and listeners in place, you’ll never know if all the hard work is actually paying off and how to duplicate those successes in the future – additionally, having these items in place will allow you to most effectively see what information could be harming your relationship with your core client/customer base.

Make Good Use of Video

Video is a powerful internet tool that can engage some website viewers that only glance at text.  Create a YouTube channel.  Make short videos showing your employees at work and let the companies’ culture shine through.  Get your employees involved in the process.  Let people be creative.  You may be surprised at how much fun everyone has and how creative your staff can be.  The more fun the videos are, the more your employees will want to share them on their social media networks.

Whether you want to believe it or not, your brand is no longer in just your marketing team’s hands.  Today’s employee’s are technically astute, culturally diverse and well connected within social media circles.  If mistreated and ignored, they have the power to tarnish your brand, perhaps even destroy it.  If they feel valued and respected, they have the ability to take your company to new heights in a short period of time.  So above all, treat your employees well, communicate with them regularly and follow the above steps to transform them into passionate brand ambassadors.  It’s a win-win situation for you and your employees.

Are your employees passionate brand ambassadors?  If not do you think they can be?  What strategies are you utilizing to make sure your employees are saying positive things about your brand?  Let us know what you think.  We want to hear from you!  Visit this post on our Fan Page and share your comments!  Thanks for reading!

The team here at Captivation is very excited to be attending the event this year and accordingly thought it would be a great opportunity to highlight some of the lessons learned from the weekend’s great lineup of keynotes, in addition to showcase platform news related to the release of WordPress 3.6 – which will be demo’ed at the conference!

Please check back over the next few weeks as we continue to add content to this page.  Thanks for visiting!

To learn more about why we love developing in WordPress – Click Here

About the Project

Captivation Media has produced many videos for our clients over the years, but it’s especially rewarding to work on a project that represents the community and its work with our youth in Sarasota County.  From directing the enthusiastic kids in our green screen studio to taking road trips and shooting footage all across this great area, we felt honored to be producing this 100 Best Communities video for Sarasota County.

It was truly a pleasure to work with numerous youth organizations within Sarasota County and we thank everyone for their involvement and cooperation during the making of this fun project.

If you would like to purchase DVD copies of this video, please select one of the BUY buttons below.

Order Your Copy Today!

Purchase 1 copy for $10, or 10 copies for $70 (plus $5 shipping). If you would like to order bulk quantities of 11 or more – please contact us for unit pricing.

A)  America’s independence was actually declared by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776.  The Declaration of Independence was adopted on the fourth, as is indicated on the document itself, which is, one supposes, the cause for all the confusion.  As one scholar has observed, what has happened is that the document announcing the event has overshadowed the event itself.

John Adams refused to acknowledge the Fourth of July as the nation’s Independence Day, firmly believing that July 2nd was the birth of our nation, and rejected all invitations to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Genuine independence was secured on September 3rd, 1783 with The Treaty of Paris in which Great Britainformally abandoned any claim to theUnited States.

B)  “Yankee Doodle” is often thought of as a patriotic song.  It’s even the state anthem of Connecticut.  However, it was originally sung by British officers making fun of backwoods Americans.  The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s and became contemporary slang for foppishness.  The implication of the verse was that the Yankees were so unsophisticated that they thought simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them the height of fashion.

After the tide began to turn during the War of Independence, Americans embraced the song and made it their own, turning it back on those who had used it to mock them.

C)  The stars on the original American flag were arranged in a circle to ensure that all colonies were equal.  The design of the flag has been officially modified 26 times since it was created in 1777.

D)  In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4th with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute.  Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans inParis,France.

E)  Betsy Ross did not actually design the U. S. flag.  That distinction belongs to Frances Hopkinson.  He is also credited with designing theU.S.seal.  We don’t know who sewed the first flag, but researchers doubt it was Ms. Ross.  It’s a nice story though, created by her ancestors nearly a century later and kept going by grade school text books and a few historians who didn’t bother to check their facts.

F)  The national anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) is actually set to the tune of an old British drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven”.  The lyrics come from the poem, “Defense of Fort McHenry” written in 1814 by a lawyer named Francis Scott Key.  The song didn’t become the national anthem until March 3rd, 1931.

G)  Our 2nd, 3rd and 5th Presidents (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe) all died on the Fourth of July.   The 4th President, James Madison, missed dying on Independence Day by just a few days (June 28th).  Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826 as the nation celebrated the Jubilee of Freedom event (50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence).  Coincidentally, Adams and Jefferson were the only Declaration signers to be elected as Presidents.

H)  Calvin Coolidge is the only President to be born on the Fourth of July.

I)  Benjamin Franklin proposed the wild turkey as the national bird, but was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who wanted the bald eagle.  Regarding the bald eagle, Franklin wrote:  “… he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly… Besides he is a rank coward; the little king bird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.”

J)  The first Fourth of July party held at the White House was in 1801 while John Adams was President.

K)  Before automobiles became the preferred method of travel, Independence Day was the worst time of the year for horses.  The poor animals were harassed by loud noises and unruly children threw firecrackers at them.

L)  The Fourth of July is one of the few federal holidays that have not been moved to the nearest Friday or Monday.

M)  Each year, the U. S. spends more than $200 million importing fireworks from China.

N)  Sadly, the majority of our nation’s flags and patriotic paraphernalia in relation to the Fourth of July are actually made in China and Mexico, not theU.S.

O)  The famous Fourth of July event, Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, started back in 1916.  It was supposedly started as a way to settle a dispute among four immigrants as to who was the most patriotic.

P)  Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided food forU.S.soldiers in the early 1800′s.  He stamped the initialsU.S.on his packaged products and supposedly some soldiers began to joke that it stood for Uncle Sam, giving way to the symbolic “Uncle Sam” of the United States government.

Captivation Media hopes everyone enjoys our nation’s Independence Day.  We’re proud to be Americans.  And we’re proud to call all of you our friends.

Be safe and have a happy Fourth!

Each Full Belly burger starts with a half-pound of 100% Black Angus beef.  Then the burgers are stuffed with ingredients like sun dried tomatoes, bacon, peppers and various types of cheeses.  The variations range from the Jalapeno Popper Burger to the Pizza Burger to the Matty Matt Burger (maple cured bacon and peanut butter).  There are currently nine varieties of stuffed burgers to choose from.  “Each burger looks like a work of art,” said long time customer Vanessa Meaux.  “I’ve enjoyed hamburgers all over the U.S. and these are the best I’ve ever tasted.”

Full Belly Meats turned to Captivation Media Group, to assist with the total site redesign as well as a solid social networking presence – including a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account and associated printed collateral.

This project continued to make us hungry every time we worked on it.  Thankfully, we had some Full Belly Burgers in the fridge to keep the team well nourished while creating!

Visit this project on the web at: FullBellyMeats.com and “LIKE” them on Facebook Here.

About a year ago we were looking for someone to make a custom trophy.  It was a very specific design and we knew not every shop could create exactly what we wanted.  After an exhaustive search and about a dozen calls, we found two trophy shops that said they could handle the job.  One was about seven miles away.  The other was 17 miles in the opposite direction.

No brainer, right?  Of course we picked the closest shop.  Except six miles into the drive, we realized we were getting into the bad section of town.  Really bad.  In fact, once we got there we decided not to get out of the car.  We were in no man’s land.  The sidewalks were deserted except for a very large, one-eyed dog that stared unblinkingly into our car and a group of teenagers freely exchanging money for something in little plastic bags.  It was dusk and the lighting on the street was somewhere between ‘dim’ and ‘I hope someone brought flashlights’.  Most of the store windows on the block were boarded up.  If we hadn’t talked to the owner on the phone, we would’ve thought the trophy shop was closed and abandoned.

We promptly drove across town to the other trophy store.  It was in a strip mall with a well-lit parking lot.  Other shops nearby were open.  We felt safe.  It was worth the drive.  Writing this blog reminded us of the trophy shop in the bad section of town.  Out of sheer curiosity, we drove past their shop again (this time at noon).  Sadly, but not surprisingly, the store was out of business.  The owner probably lost far more sales than they saved in cheap rent.

Not every business needs to reside in an upscale area, but your location does say a lot about your business.  There are a lot of factors involved in choosing the right location like commercial zoning, taxes, expense, local economy, proximity to supply, street or foot traffic, etc.  If your business requires customers or clients to visit your location, you must remember to put yourself in their shoes and view your location as they do.  Does your place welcome customers or does it scare people away?

Here’s a quick list of things to be aware of when determining if your location is customer friendly:

Signage

Remember as a kid when your parents were driving on the Interstate and you saw those famous golden arches up ahead?  You immediately let your folks know you were hungry.  Do you think it’s a mistake that the McDonalds’ sign was the tallest and highly visible from the road?

While your business may not be able to boast 50 gazillion served, it still needs to be clearly marked.  Don’t make people guess.  Invest in a good sign.  If possible, make sure the sign and your street address are easily read from the street.  If they accidentally miss your driveway, there’s a good chance they won’t bother turning around – and that means you just lost out on business.

Lighting

How many times do you pass a business at night trying to determine if it’s still open or not?  Make sure your parking lot and entrance area are well lit at all times – for you and your employees.  No one wants to park and walk to a place of business in the dark, no matter how great the neighborhood is.  And if they are visiting while the sun goes down, don’t make them walk back to their car in the dark.  They may never return.

A well lit area says you’re open and customers are welcome.  Just as important, make sure any windows that face the street or the parking lot are illuminated to take away any guesswork about whether you’re open or not.

Security

Just like that trophy shop, if you’re customers don’t feel safe at your location, you’re going to have a hard time staying in business.  Take any steps within your control to make people feel secure.  Lighting is obviously a major factor, but others to consider (depending on your business) are hiring security guards, cameras and employees patrolling the parking lot.

Cosmetics

Do you keep the exterior of your location clean?  Elements such as broken lights, spider webs in the windows, uneven sidewalks and peeling paint all suggest you’re neglecting a part of your business.  The same goes for the interior of your building.  Is your desk cluttered or your carpet worn?  Is your restroom dirty?  These can be warning signs to your customers.

If you have employees that smoke, make sure they’re not hanging out near the front entrance on their cigarette breaks.  Provide an area out back or away from your customers.  No one wants to have smoke accidentally blown in their face when they’re entering your store.  Yet, regrettably, it happens all too often and some of these customers will never return to that business again.

Parking

While owning space for a parking lot may not be an option, you should make sure your location has available parking close by and that your customers know where it is.  If you have a special parking situation, make sure you include parking info on your website and all printed marketing materials.  Don’t make prospective customers have to figure it out on their own.  If customers have to use a parking garage, comp their fees if possible.

Convenience

Is your location easy to get to?  Before you sign any lease, make sure customers can get to you in a quick and easy fashion.  Also, check to see if there are any extensive construction plans scheduled for your area that would prevent customers from getting to you.  We know a stretch of road that has been undergoing major construction for months.  It’s a major inconvenience to get to the stores that line the street.  Many of the small business there may be forced to close their doors before the work is finally completed.

Your location says a lot about your business.  Make sure its singing your praises rather than putting up red flags for your customers. Do you know what your location is saying about your business?  Have you ever stopped frequenting a business because of its location?  Let us know.  We want to hear from you!

As discussed in last year’s Summer Movie blog, the movie trailer is a marketing staple for all film distributors.  A trailer that gets lots of play on video sharing sites like YouTube can dramatically increase the chance of success for that movie.  There are a number of anticipated movies that have seen their trailers get millions of views and others that could be potential sleepers.

So, based on the movie trailer, here are out picks for this summer’s top movies:

The Avengers

Release Date:  May 4th

Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. assemble a team of superheroes to help save the Earth from peril.  Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye form the core of the super group, based on characters created by Marvel Comics.  Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson add star power to the highly anticipated movie.  Plans for the film were first announced back in 2005 and anticipation grew, especially after the success of the Iron Man movie in 2008.

With over 20 million Youtube views, the movie trailer promises lots of action, special effects and larger-than-life situations.  Add well established characters to the mix and you have a promising recipe for a box office blockbuster.  Like a lot of the films on our list, the movie is in 3-D for the express purpose of making you pay more to see it.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Release Date: June 22nd

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States.  He makes it his mission to eliminate them.  Now that may sound really cool to some and just plain stupid to others.  This has the possibility to be either a hit or a bomb, depending on early word-of-mouth.  Produced by Tim Burton, the film is based on a novel by the same name… and of course, it’s in 3-D.

The trailer did look pretty awesome, so we hope it’ll be the type of flick that lives up to its high-concept premise.  If it does, don’t be surprised if we see George Washington, Zombie Killer next summer.

That’s My Boy

Release Date: June 15th

One of the few promising comedies this summer, That’s My Boy stars Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg.  Sandler plays Donny who fathered a son, Todd (Samberg) in middle school with his teacher.  He raises the boy on his own until Todd turns 18, then loses contact with him.  30 years later, Donny owes back taxes so he visits Todd, who has become a successful hedge fund manager, hoping to get $40,000 from his son.  Donny must first deal with the consequences of his poor parenting past.

The concept is solid and the trailer boasts a lot of funny moments.  Sandler and Samberg look like a pretty good comedy duo.  If this movie delivers more laughs than just what’s in the trailer, That’s My Boy could be a sleeper amongst the big budget summer movies.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Release Date: July 3rd

Based on the popular Marvel comic book superhero, The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot of the Spider-Man film series and the fourth Columbia Pictures movie featuring the web slinger.  The reboot went into development after the studio cancelled Spider-Man 4.  The last three Spider-Man films starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, the young man who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and turns into the costumed hero.  Now that lead role goes to Andrew Garfield.

While reaction to a new start of the franchise was originally lukewarm, the trailer has brought hope to many fans.  The tone of the movie looks darker and Spidey’s costume, the action and special effects look better than the previous attempts.  Plus, many fans never enjoyed Tobey Maguire portraying their beloved Spider-Man.

This film will be in 3-D as well.

Dark Shadows

Release Date: May 11th

Based on the ABC soap opera that aired from 1966 to 1971, Tim Burton directs and Johnny Depp stars in this big budget film adaptation.  After being imprisoned for two centuries, vampire Barnabas Collins is freed from his tomb and emerges into the world of 1972.  The trailer shows all the elements you’d expect from a Tim Burton movie; Johnny Depp (of course), Burton’s wife Helen Bonham Carter, rich set design, plenty of oddball characters and a score by Danny Elfman.

Tim Burton is one of today’s most interesting directors, although his track record with revamping franchses is spotty (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland) so it remains to be seen if he can make Dark Shadows work as a spoof.  This is such a far departure from the TV series, it’ll be interesting to see if fans of the original Dark Shadows fans warm up to it or not.  That being said, the trailer looks hilarious and it’s piqued our desire to go see it on the big screen.

Men in Black III

Release Date: May 25th

Once again Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in action.  This time Agent J (Smith) travels in time to MIB’s early years in the 1960s, to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K (Jones) and changing history.

Of course the movie will be in 3-D (groan) but the trailer was funny and promised some pretty cool special effects.  The movie has the potential to be a hit, but it also has a very real chance of being a disappointment.  It’s been widely reported that there were all kinds of production problems related to this movie, including script concerns – and that’s never a good thing.

The Dark Knight Rises

Release Date: July 20th

This film is the third installment in director Christopher Nolan’s Batman film series, and is intended to be the last (rest assured it will be rebooted again in a few years by another director).  Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent’s crimes to protect Dent’s reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department.  Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Batman returns to Gotham, where he encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle (Catwoman) while stopping the villain Bane’s plans to destroy the city.

This movie was in jeopardy of being not being produced as Christopher Nolan didn’t want to make it unless he found a worthwhile storyline.  Eventually he did and decided that the film would be worth committing to.  Given Nolan’s track record, if he’s excited about the story then we’re excited too.

As with Nolan’s previous Batman movies, there’s a lot of anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises and it will probably rival The Avengers for the top superhero movie of 2012.   The trailer has millions of Youtube views and the buzz gets stronger as the release date draws nearer.

One note worth mentioning… The Dark Knight Rises will NOT be in 3-D (thank you Mr. Nolan!).

Prometheus

Release Date: June 8th

Directed by Ridley Scott, Prometheus was originally conceived as a prequel to Scott’s 1979 classic, Alien.  But as the script developed, it became more of its own idea than another Alien movie, although Scott says Prometheus shares “strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak”.  Judging by comments on message boards, this has confused a lot of potential moviegoers who see a very cool trailer, but wonder if the movie is another Alien movie or an Alien rip-off.  The answer is neither.  It’s an unofficial prequel to Alien… and while we’re not exactly sure what that means, we’re still excited to see it on the big screen.

The similarities to Alien may hurt or help Prometheus, only time will tell.  However, the trailer looks visually stunning and has obvious similarities to the original Alien – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Dictator

Release Date: May 11th

Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) stars in a “heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed”.  Cohen can be hit or miss at times, but the trailer has a lot of laughs and the film is generating considerable buzz.  The film opens the same day as Dark Shadows and just a week after The Avengers debuts – so it will be interesting to see if people will flock to see this movie or wait for DVD.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Release Date:  June 1st

This is a very different treatment of the classic tale of Snow White.  This time, Princess Snow White escapes her evil stepmother with the help of a huntsman who was supposed to kill her, but instead trains her to fight back.

The movie looks dark and suspenseful, and looks far different than the recent Snow White movie, Mirror, Mirror.  The special effects, cinematography and star power (Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart) make this a potential summer sleeper.

What are you looking forward to seeing the most?  Tell us your favorites in the comments section below!

It also got us thinking about traveling in general and what tips we could pass along to you, whether your ventures take you on business trips, corporate retreats, tradeshows, amusement parks or just relaxing vacations with the family.  Here are some of the favorite tips from the Captivation Media staff.

1.  Wash Your Hands (Constantly)

Maybe we sound a lot like your mother on this one, but it’s the most important tip on our list.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a cruise, sitting on a plane, dining in a restaurant or relaxing by a pool in a foreign country, a vacation usually involves coming in contact with other people from different parts of the U.S. and around the world.  Diseases are much more likely to spread rapidly in vacation scenarios.  Some diseases can be spread before the symptoms are even apparent.

Your hands will undoubtedly touch bathroom handles, rails, tables and other surfaces that many others have previously touched.  Washing your hands often, with soap and warm water, is a wise idea.  Also, avoid putting your hands near your mouth or rubbing your eyes when you’re out in public.  It’s also helpful to bring hand sanitizer to clean your hands after touching public doorknobs.

If you’re on a cruise, you’ll see hand sanitizing stations throughout the ship.  Take advantage of these.  One of our team members came down with the dreaded Norwalk virus years ago and spent the rest of his vacation in the bathroom of his cabin.  Not fun.

If you’re planning to cruise, check out the Centers for Disease Control’s Vessel Sanitation Program which inspects and grades cruise ships for cleanliness.  You can view individual ships’ scores on the site (Norwegian Sky had a perfect score of 100).  Of course, cruise passengers have contracted the Norwalk virus on ships that had high CDC scores too, so it still pays to constantly wash your hands, no matter how or where you travel.

If you’re flying, remember that your tray table is rarely, if ever, cleaned.  Wipe it yourself before you use it.  And avoid the airline’s pillows and blankets.  They are only washed when they are visibly dirty (in other words, almost never).

2.  Have a Packing Checklist

Make your list early and revise as your trip gets closer.  Thinking you’ll remember everything at the last minute is a recipe for disaster.  Forgetting an essential item will result in lost time searching for a place to purchase it and/or paying a premium for it.  A packing checklist will also give you peace of mind that you didn’t forget anything.

When travelling with a partner of family members, usually everyone packs their own luggage.  But if one bag is lost that one person may have nothing for the whole trip.  Instead, it’s smart to split items up into several bags.  If one bag winds up missing, at least everyone will have some clothes to wear.

And remember to pack your carry-on bag wisely.  What would you need for a couple of days to live on if your luggage was lost or delayed?  Those are the items you should keep on you.  Always make sure to store prescription medications and car keys in your carry-on bag.

3.  Respect Your Neighbors

Yes, you are on vacation, but it doesn’t give you the right to slam your hotel door at 5am or talk loudly in the hallway of the cruise ship after midnight.  Other people are not keeping the same hours as you.  They have paid good money for their vacation and may wish for peace and quiet.

The same goes for talking loudly on the phone (anywhere), or texting in a dark place, like a theater.  The light from your cell phone is extremely annoying to the people sitting in back of you who want to watch the show.

4.  Negotiate Taxi Fare in Advance

Yes, shore excursions are huge moneymakers for the cruise line.  And yes, exploring the island may be more fun and less expensive on your own, but remember to negotiate that cab fare in advance.  If you fail to, then it’s possible some cabbies could take advantage of you and charge you whatever they think they can shake you down for.  You could wind up broke or in jail.  Neither of those are desirable options, especially when you’re in a foreign country.

5.  Avoid Sea / Motion Sickness

Whether your vacation takes you out to sea, in the air or on the road, motion sickness is something that may affect you or the people you are traveling with.  The best thing to do is prepare in advance.  While motion sickness is almost always preventable, it’s quite hard to cure once you start to feel sick.

We DO NOT recommend Dramamine!  In our opinion, it is probably the worst remedy you can take.  Not only is it ineffective for most individuals, but it also makes a lot of people very sleepy, which could ruin your vacation fun.  Scopolamime (the patch behind your ear) can also have some unwanted side effects.  Instead, try these two options:

Sea Band – It is a pressure point therapy wrist band, and works just like Chinese acupressure.  It helps symptoms of motion sickness by applying continuous pressure on the two tendons near the wrist.

Ginger – Ginger helps to settle your stomach and works quickly after digestion.   It is easy to take in many forms; pills, candy, powder, even a glass of ginger ale will do the trick.

The best thing about these two remedies is that they can work together without any side effects.  So keep both on hand whenever you’re traveling with someone who is prone to motion sickness.

6.  Use Your Digital Camera or Camera Phone

Mobile phones can be used for just about anything these days, but they can also be an asset to help with your vacation.

Have you ever written down the parking space number before a long trip, only to lose the piece of paper?  Try taking a picture of the parking space sign instead.  Snap a picture of your luggage before your trip so you can identify your bags or show an attendant what it looks like if it comes up missing.  Also, it’s helpful to take a picture of your itinerary and other records in case you need to quickly reference them.

7.  Scan Important Documents

Scan items like driver’s licenses, passports, birth certificates, etc.  Then email the files to yourself.  If there is an emergency, you can access these important documents on your smartphone or anywhere there’s an internet connection.  Hopefully, you’ll never have to use them, but if you do, these files may be a vacation saver.

What are your favorite travel tips?  We welcome your comments and suggestions so other readers can benefit as well.  We want to hear from you!